Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and an information processing system having a Web browser that receives screen data from a Web server and displays a screen based on that screen data.
Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus, such as a PC, equipped with a Web browser, displaying a screen based on screen data (for example, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data) provided from a Web server on a network is known. Amongst screens displayed on a Web browser of an information processing apparatus there are operation screens for operating a Web application that a Web server has.
In conventional Web applications, there are those that have a function for authenticating a user that uses the Web application. In a case where this kind of Web application is used, first, HTML data, including a form for inputting user information, is provided to a Web browser from the Web application. The Web browser displays a screen based on the received HTML data. When a user inputs user information such as a user name or a password via the displayed screen, the Web browser transmits form content (already input user information) to the Web application, and a user authentication is performed on the Web application side.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-257500 (patent document 1) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-185651 (patent document 2), for example, are known as techniques for reducing effort upon inputting of user information into a screen displayed on a Web browser. In patent document 1, it is recited that in a case of an environment in which a user uses a plurality of Web applications, a single sign-on is realized so as to store all of the different user information for each Web application. More specifically, in patent document 1, when, in a state in which a Web browser is displaying a screen of a Web application, a user selects a script held as a bookmark, and an access to an authentication apparatus is executed in accordance with a definition of the script. Then, under the condition that the user is authenticated by the access destination authentication apparatus, usage of the Web application is permitted. With this, the user need not store all the different user information for each Web application.
In patent document 2, when user information is input into a screen displayed on a Web browser, a script for acquiring user information that is stored in an external apparatus for a particular screen is executed. With this, the user is able to reduce the effort of inputting user information.
However, there are problems with the above described conventional techniques as recited below. For example, in a case where user information is input into a screen displayed on a Web browser for user authentication by a Web application, the user must input user information repeatedly every time he or she uses the Web application. Holding, within a Web browser distinguishably for each user, user information that users once inputted, and then automatically setting (auto-complete) the held user information within the screen when the screen is displayed on the Web browser is known.
However, in order to realize an auto-complete by a conventional approach it is necessary to hold information corresponding to all of the users within the Web browser, and there is a problem in that memory resources of the information processing apparatus are wasted. Also, in an environment in which the same user uses a plurality of information processing apparatuses, there is a problem in that a Web browser of each information processing apparatus is caused to hold the user's user information.
In patent document 1, it is necessary to input user information repeatedly each time the Web application is used. Also, because the user manually selects the script that is held as the bookmark, excessive effort is incurred. In patent document 2, a script for acquiring the user information for a particular page can be executed. However, with this approach, it is necessary to register in advance information of the page to which the user desires that the auto-complete be applied, and the effort of the user increases. Also, when all pages are registered as pages for which it is desired that autocomplete be applied in order to cut out effort, processing of executing the script occurs each time a page is displayed, and there is a problem in that this has an impact on overall system performance. Also, in a case where an unexpected screen transition occurs, such as one to an error screen displayed in a case where there is an error in the user information that the user inputs, there is a problem in that the auto-complete function cannot be provided.